Cupertino Matters
- State of the City
- UPCOMING – Planning Commission, Tues., Feb. 10, 2026, 6:45 p.m.
- RECAP – City Council, Thurs., Feb. 19, 2026, 5:30 Special; 6:45 Regular
The major city event this week is the Mayor’s State of the City address on Thursday, Feb. 26 at Quinlan Center. The doors will open at 6:00 and the program will start at 6:30. RSVP through Eventbrite. Additional parking will be available for attendees across the street at the Abundant Life Assembly of God Church (10100 N Stelling Road) while construction at the Quinlan Center parking lot takes place.
The city budget will be a major topic for Mayor Moore as the council grapples with an unexpectedly high increase in costs for police protection–the subject of the study session referenced in the council recap below. Te Mercury News outlined the matter in South Bay cities stare down multimillion-dollar hike in sheriff’s costs: Cupertino, Saratoga and Los Altos Hills could face budget trouble as their contract with the Sheriff could jump by a combined millions.
Readers are encouraged to review the draft revision of the Safety Element of the General Plan, which is required when the Housing Element or Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is updated, both of which happened recently. The public review runs period from now through Friday, March 13 at Health and Safety Element Update. For context, the Health and Safety Element of the General Plan: Community Vision for 2015-2040, was last amended in 2005, with minor edits in 2015. The Element identifies natural hazards and outlines policies to protect the community from earthquakes, flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, hazardous materials, and other climate-related risks. The update reflects current science and includes strategies to strengthen community resilience, emergency preparedness, and climate adaptation.
UPCOMING – Planning Commission, Tues., Feb. 24, 2026, 6:45 p.m., Regular Meeting
Item No. 2: Consider: 1) a Hillside Exception for grading on slopes exceeding 30% in order to create a flat yard area, 2) an R-1 Exception for garage design, 3) a Design Review Permit for a new two-story residence with second story side setbacks of less than 15 feet and a second to first floor area ratio exceeding 66%, 4) a Minor Residential Permit for a balcony, and 5) a Tree Removal Permit for the removal and replacement of five Protected native oak trees (ranging in size between 12-inches DBH to 18-inches DBH) to allow the creation of the flat yard areas. (Application No(s).: EXC-2025-007, EXC-2025-008, R-2024-029, RM-2024-028, TR-2024-043; Applicant(s): David Kuoppamaki; Location: 22068 San Fernando Court; APN(s): 357 12 012). This single family residence application was previously agendized but rescheduled. The subject property is a 7,066 sq. ft. lot created in 1942 as a Santa Clara County subdivision and currently hosts a 954 sq. ft. one-bedroom house built in 1962. The applicant is proposing the construction of a new, contemporary-style 3,030 square-foot, two story, single-family residence with a balcony. The proposal also includes grading of the rear yard to create a flat yard area, which requires a hillside exception.
The staff recommend that the Planning Commission approve the residence, subject to the conditions that the applicant revise the design to reduce building mass by: (1) lowering the building height to ensure that all portions of the first story fit within the permissible first story building envelope, and (2) adding sloped roof elements to a minimum of 25% of the first story and 50% of the second story.
Item No. 2: Consider a Tentative Map, Architectural and Site Approval, and Tree Removal Permit for the construction of a 51-unit townhome condominium development on Housing Element Priority Housing Sites 25 through 28. The project utilizes Senate Bill 330 and provisions of State Density Bonus law. (Application No(s): TM-2024-009, ASA-2024-015, TR-2024-044; Applicant: SummerHill Homes, LLC; Location: 10857, 10867, 10877, and 10887 Linda Vista Drive; APNs: 356-06-001, -002, -003, and -004). Known as Evulich Court, this project is a Priority Housing Site included in the state-approved Housing Element primarily for townhome-style development. Many neighbors have opposed this type of development, but the city is bound by state law. As such, review of the project is limited by several laws including the Housing Accountability Act, the Housing Crisis Act (SB 330), and the Density Bonus Law, among others. Five waivers and one concession are requested under the Density Bonus Law, which allows applicants to trade affordable housing built on-site for waivers of development standards that would otherwise apply. The alternative for the site is a higher density apartment style development which would be inconsistent with the existing single family family homes. The townhomes are large family units ranging from 2356 to 2727 sq. ft. with 4 bedrooms, comparable to or larger than existing adjacent residential properties. These townhomes are the lowest density allowed, which contributes to the “No Net Loss” shortfall that the city faces with lack of enough Moderate Income units across all approved projects.
The 51-unit development will include 10 deed-restricted below-market-rate (BMR) homes, which will increase the number of affordable housing units in the city. Rather than shoehorning a small park into the project which is immediately adjacent to existing parkland, staff is recommending a parkland in-lieu fee of $1,998,000 for the 37 market rate units (the parkland fee is waived for BMR units).The applicant is proposing reducing the required in-lieu fee to $1,621,000 by building a pedestrian trail connection between the project property and the adjacent Linda Vista Trail at a cost to construct, not to exceed $377,023, thus reducing the in-lieu fee to $1,621,000. This modification would significantly improve access to the city’s existing parkland and open space for the entire neighborhood.
RECAP – City Council, Tues., Feb.24, 3:00 p.m., Special Meeting
Item No. 1: Approval of first amendment to extend the term, through April 30, 2026, of the Interim City Attorney Agreement for City Attorney services by and between the City of Cupertino and Aleshire & Wynder, LLP, with Floy Andrews as Interim City Attorney The current city attorney agreement expires Feb. 24, so this extends the agreement until April 30 to allow time for a performance appraisal. It is not clear why this contract extension was not added to a prior council meeting, resulting in today’s last-minute meeting. The expiration date of the contract has been known to all parties since it was executed last year. Approved 4-0-1 with Wang absent.
RECAP – City Council, Thurs., Feb.19, 5:30 p.m., Special Meeting; 6:45 Regular Meeting, Council Chamber, and Teleconference Location Omni Barton Creek Hotel, Austin, Texas 78735 (Moved for the holidays).
YouTube: 3 hr. 16 min.
Special Meeting
Item No. 1: Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Contract Renewal. This was an extensive discussion to provide guidance to city staff regarding the unexpected 36% increase in the contract for county sheriff services. The proposed contract would increase costs by roughly $6M from approximately $19M to $25M, at a time when the city budget is already tight. The proposal was delivered on New Year’s Eve, and must be finalized by June 30, 2026–a short time in which to explore options. Council unanimously approved direction to the city manager to look into cost-saving measures , and to explore the feasibility of creating a joint powers authority or special district for law enforcement with adjacent cities.
Regular Meeting
Item No. 6: Consider (1) adopting Resolution No. 26-022 to repeal and replace Resolution No. 23-026 regarding the Legislative Review Committee (LRC), (2) adopting the 2026 Legislative Platform, and (3), amending the 2026 Council Committee Assignments to designate Vice Mayor Liang Chao and Councilmember R “Ray” Wang to the LRC, with Mayor Kitty Moore as an alternate. The discussion regarding this recently resurrected committee centered around informing the council about positions that would be taken by the LRC. Approved 4-1 with Fruen voting nay, citing his discomfort with delegating this function to two council members, rather than the council as a whole.
Item No. 7: Consider Potential November 2026 Revenue Ballot Measure. There was no consensus on this agenda item, and council members were clearly reluctant to move ahead with increased taxes. The city has a structural deficit plus increased sheriff’s costs, so the council is considering options to increase city revenue via any of the following: (1) Transaction and Use Tax (TUT) increase, (2) a Business License Tax increase or revision, (3) Vacancy Tax, (4) Parcel Tax, and (5) Utility Users Tax (UUT) extension. Each of these would require a ballot measure with an estimated cost of $300,000, plus campaign costs. There is no guarantee any of these taxes would pass. Mayor Moore moved to continue the item to the March 17 council meeting. Council approved unanimously.
Item No. 8: Parkland Ballot Measure – Mapping, Zoning, Legal Review, and Election Considerations. Due to computer problems, the meeting was adjourned before hearing this item. Instead, the item was continued to March 3, where it will likely be postponed.
Item No. 9: An update on the development of the Active Transportation Plan, including a summary of Phase 2, explanations of plan edits, revised scoring criteria, and next steps. Due to computer problems, the meeting was adjourned before hearing this item. Instead, the item was continued to March 3, where it will likely be postponed.
CUPERTINO COURIER: February 20, 2026
The front page photo and article on page 5 is entitled ‘Eye-opening’ experience: Poverty simulation highlights Silicon Valley inequity. Leaders get a feel for what it’s like to be poor and needing aid in area. Additional community briefs on page 5 are (1) Chopin, Liszt recital at DeAnza, (2) Funding priorities for workforce development, and (3) Natural Color nature book. The sole legal notice is a Public hearing regarding, Vacation of a portion of right of way located along the westerly edge of Mary Avenue scheduled for the March 3, 2026, City Council meeting.
Warm regards,
Jean Bedord
Cupertino Matters
Publisher and Editor
